The beasts run; they hide the earth. In one voice they answer: “We have not seen her with sight, nor heard her with hearing.”
The old woman cried toward the sky: “Come hither, ye birds of the air!”
The birds fly, they hide the light of day. In one voice they answer: “We have not seen her with sight, we have not heard her with hearing.”
“There is no one else to ask,” said the old woman. She took Ivan Tsarevich by the hand and led him into the room. They had just come in when the Mogol bird arrived on the wing, fell to the ground. There was no light in the window.
“Oh, thou Mogol bird, where hast thou been flying; why art thou late?”
“I was arraying Peerless Beauty for mass.”
“Thou hast the news I need. Now do me a service with faith and truth,—carry Ivan Tsarevich to her.”
“Gladly would I serve, but much food is needed.”
“How much?”
“Three forties of beef, and a vessel of water.”